The Continental Inn

Nestled in the hills, in historic downtown Tomales, California, the newly-built Continental Inn is a replica of the original turn-of-the-century hotel that stood in the same spot — the cornerstone of this picturesque community’s quaint downtown. With nine unique, spacious rooms — each with private baths and brim full of antiques, The Continental Inn offers that elusive combination of unhurried charm and modern comfort & convenience. Down comforters, thick towels and good reading lights will bring you relaxation in the evenings.

March 2002 marked the opening of The Continental Inn, located in the rural little coastal town of Tomales (pronounced toe-MAL-is). Our name pays homage to The Continental Hotel, Tomales’ first hotel, built in the mid-1850’s. The hotel building was commonly referred to as “the pavilion” because it housed a large hall that frequently hosted diverse entertainment, from dances to public meetings.

This very old photograph (right, circa 1870’s) shows the hotel as a square two-story structure with a false front that was constructed with rustic boards. The sides were surfaced with clap boards. There was a double-decked veranda across the front five steps above the ground. Square wooden pillars supported the upper deck and a barber shop pole was nailed to one of the pillars. A glass door with five windows opened onto the upper deck.

On Sunday afternoons, men and boys would gather along the steps where running and jumping contests were held. Wrestling matches and an occasional dog fight would ensue to enliven the contests. A horse race near the corner of Highway One and Tomales-Petaluma road attracted much interest with many small wagers being made.

This location has been the sight of several hotels over the last 150 years. When a disastrous fire destroyed the Continental Hotel in 1877, the U.S. Hotel was built replacing the Continental.

The Continental Hotel and the U.S. Hotel accommodated many teams of wagons over a span of quite a few years that would line up day after day for their turn to load and unload goods and produce; too weary for their return, the travelers would often stay. Traveling salesman also accounted for a large amount of business for the hotels. They would trade produce to the farmers and sell goods to the general store.

In those times, Petaluma was too far away to be able to travel both directions in a day. Tomales was a community intently focused on becoming the largest cosmopolitan town in Marin. San Rafael was the largest, but the people of Tomales were undoubtedly the loudest! Bray Dickinson, a local historian has writings of his own observations of the 1850’s describing Tomales as “busy day and night and the people are a boisterous, cursing, hard-drinking, tobacco-chewing crowd that fills the town.”